Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #2 Review

An insane cosmic spectacle of epic proportions.

I almost feel like I need to begin every review of one of these Final Crisis tie-in miniseries by pointing out how they're completely unlike any such tie-ins we've ever seen. DC has made the bold and wise decision not to milk their latest mega event by shoehorning a large number of their titles into the mix, and instead chose to hand a select few of their properties over to their most trusted creators, giving those creators free reign for the most part. Again, for this, I'm immensely thankful. Still, I'm convinced this Legion of Three Worlds miniseries is the downright oddest tie-in I've ever come across, and I'm not quite convinced if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Let's be honest for a minute, folks: The Legion isn't exactly everyone's cup of tea. There is a definitive niche audience that loves the Legion dearly. There are a large number of DCU fans – myself included – that tolerate and at times enjoy the Legionnaires despite feeling like they're incredibly lame. Then there's a significant fan base that finds the Legion entirely impenetrable, and would never bother picking up a Legion book unless it had some grave importance to the greater DCU. What makes Geoff Johns and George Perez' miniseries so unique is that it somehow panders to all three audiences, a juggling act that few creators would ever dare attempt. That it tries all this without ever really solidly tying into Final Crisis proper (at least to this point) makes the series all the stranger and more remarkable.

Geoff Johns has recently done a phenomenal job exposing new fans to the idea of the Legion (at least the silver age incarnation) in the pages of "The Lightning Saga" and Action Comics, but I think he might have bitten of more than even he could possibly chew by trying to do the same with the Zero Hour and most recent incarnations, all in one book. For the diehard Legion fan, seeing all three versions of these characters on the same page (a feat that only George Perez could possibly pull off) is sure to come as a huge thrill. For any casual fan, however, seeing so many characters pop-up is overwhelming in its own right, let alone seeing three different versions of so many characters. I can't even imagine what kind of headache newer fans would get while trying to read this issue. My head was spinning, and I have at least a compulsory knowledge of most of these heroes and villains.

On the other hand, the sheer scale of this cast and the scope of this universe-hopping story are what make this series so fun. Coupled with George Perez's absurdly detailed art, Johns' epic adventure reads like an insane spectacle the likes of which we haven't seen since the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. Perez's art alone is worth the cover price. The legendary artist delivers pages composed of up to sixteen panels without ever skimping on the detail or making any scene feel overcrowded – even when dozens of heroes and villains occupy the same four-inch-by-four-inch panel. Perez's art is mind-blowing in every sense of the term, and I dare say he might have outdone himself with some of his work here.

As for the writing side of things, Johns makes a few very smart decisions in this series that go a long way towards making it accessible and enjoyable to most readers. First, he makes sure to hold our hands by carefully identifying each and every hero or villain that step onto the stage; Its extremely helpful to know the name and powers of every player involved, even if you've never heard of them before in your life. Second, even though he never really ties this back to Final Crisis in any tangible way outside of the initial time travel hook, he does offer a startling and immensely rewarding connection between this story and his recent Green Lantern work, making this issue a must read for any fan of the GL mythos and Johns' work in particular. You'll want to go back and re-read that classic Alan Moore Tales of the Green Lantern Corps short Johns has been building off of recently. I know I did.

Outside of Johns and Perez, I can't think of any other pair of creators that could possibly have made a book like Legion of Three Worlds work on any level, which is a testament to its worthiness as well as the intimacy of every one of these Final Crisis tie-ins. How much this book succeeds might depend on your level of adoration for the Legion. At the very least, though, it will inspire awe and wonder like very few books you're likely to come across anytime soon.